Helping Bridge the Pay Gap, More Women Are Taking on Side Hustles Than Men

Helping Bridge the Pay Gap, More Women Are Taking on Side Hustles Than Men

Toronto, Canada – December 31, 2016: UberEats delivery

35 percent of women have a side hustle, versus 28 percent of men

African American and Hispanic workers more likely to have side hustles compared to White and Asian workers

1 in 4 workers making more than $75k and 19 percent of those making more than $100k currently have a gig outside of their full time job

CHICAGO and ATLANTA, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Got a side gig? You’re not alone. According to new CareerBuilder research, nearly a third of workers (32 percent) do — this compares to 29 percent last year. And more women than men have side hustles — 35 percent vs. 28 percent.

While having a side gig is popular across demographics, it’s more popular for some. Broken down by age, those under 35 are more likely to have a side hustle (41 percent) versus those over 35 (27 percent). By race/ethnicity, African American workers (46 percent) and Hispanic workers (40 percent) are more likely than White (29 percent) and Asian (26 percent) workers to have a side hustle.

The national study was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from May 24 to June 16, 2017 among a representative sample of 3,696 full-time workers across industries in the U.S., including 3,462 in the private sector.

“While we continue to be at what is considered full employment, the quality and pay of jobs isn’t always what workers want, causing them to seek out new ways to supplement their full-time income,” said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. “We’re no longer in a world where there’s just one employee-employer relationship. It’s easier than ever to download an app that allows you to drive around passengers, pick up babysitting gigs or sell your unwanted furniture, and employees are willing to take on these extra responsibilities for the extra cash.”

How Much Money is Enough Money?
Workers of all income levels are taking on extra work. One in 4 workers making more than $75k (25 percent) and 19 percent of those making more than $100k currently have a gig outside of their full time job. This is compared to 35 percent of workers making below $50k and 36 percent earning below $35k.
Workers across the country are working side gigs, with the South leading the way at 33 percent. This compares to 32 percent of workers in the West, and 31 percent in both the Midwest and Northeast. When it comes to cities where workers have side gigs, Dallas comes out on top (40 percent), followed by:

Boston: 39 percent

Houston: 39 percent

New York: 38 percent

Philadelphia: 37 percentMiami: 36 percent

Broken down by industry or function, leisure and hospitality (42 percent), transportation (36 percent) and health care (34 percent) workers report having a side gig, followed by:

Retail: 32 percent

Manufacturing: 31 percent

Sales: 30 percent

Financial services: 27 percent

IT: 25 percent

What Are Workers Doing?
Below are some of the types of side hustles workers are doing in addition to their regular work hours:

Survey taker

Babysitter

Chef/baker

Dog walker

Blogger

House sitter

DJ

Bartender

Some workers cited more unique side gigs:

Barrel racer

Face painter

Gourd artist

Soap maker

Rapper

Where Does an Employee’s Loyalty Lie?
Some workers may be taking on side hustles to help overcome the day-to-day drag of their day jobs. More than eight in 10 workers (82 percent) say they are not in their dream jobs, and 42 percent say they don’t think they ever will be. A third of workers who are not in their dream job (33 percent) have a side hustle.

But those with side hustles aren’t looking to leave their traditional jobs. Sixty-seven percent of workers with a side hustle do not want to turn their side gig into their day job and 71 percent of all workers don’t plan to own their own business in the future. When asked if they’re more passionate about their day job or side hustle, more said their day job (42 percent) than their side hustle (32 percent) or neither (25 percent).

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 3,696 employees ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, including 3,462 in the private sector) between May 24 and June 16, 2017 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 3,696, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.61 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is a global, end-to-end human capital solutions company focused on helping employers find, hire and manage great talent. Combining advertising, software and services, CareerBuilder leads the industry in recruiting solutions, employment screening and human capital management. It also operates top job sites around the world. CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.